The Preservation of Health: Managing Carbohydrate Intake for Life

191 Pages·2002·0.84 MB·English

by  Mark A. Falco

The Preservation of Health:
Managing Carbohydrate Intake for Life
by
Mark A. Falco, D.M.D.
DORRANCE PUBLISHING CO., INC.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 15222
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2002 by Mark A. Falco, D.M.D.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system without permission in
writing from the publisher.
ISBN # 0-8059-5446-5
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing
For information or to order additional books, please write:
Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
643 Smithfield Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
U.S.A.
1-800-788-7654
Or visit our web site and on-line catalog at www.dorrancepublishing.com
Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
1. An Episode of a Family Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
2. A History of Sugar Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
3. Sugar Rush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
4. Sugar Shock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
5. The Good and the Bad of Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
6. Nutrient Void . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
7. Hunger and Obesity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
8. Tooth Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
9. Gum Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
10. Fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
11. Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
12. Osteoporosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
13. Carbohydrates and Coronary Artery Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
14. Asthma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
15. Diabetes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
16 Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
17. Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
18. The Everyday Preservation of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
19. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177

Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the illustrious work of pioneers in human oral nutrition.
Melvin E. Page, D.D.S. and Weston A. Price, D.D.S. were two dedicated
men whose extraordinary work with nutrition continue to form the basis for
diagnoses today.
My heartwarming thanks goes to the tremendous guidance and profes-
sionalism exemplified by the wonderful people that have supported this book.
I greatly appreciate the expertise displayed by Michael J. Glade, Ph.D.,
F.A.C.N., C.N.S. in assisting me with the improvement of the delivery of my
information. My special thanks to James P. Costello, D.D.S. for heightening
my awareness and allowing me to ‘just do it.’ I thank Jeff Baird, D.O. for his
contribution in putting the book’s message into practice. Significant thanks
must be bestowed upon Nancy Appleton, Ph.D. for her cultivating enthusi-
asm and remarkable breadth of knowledge in helping me to structure my
information.
To my family and friends, who have always been there for me, and to my
dog that believes Imust always be right.
v

INTRODUCTION
Is a low carbohydrate intake the answer to healthier living? Many experts have
written substantial amounts of information on the benefits of a low carbohy-
drate intake to encourage and maintain weight loss. Others have written
about the ailments that a high sugar intake have caused on health. Dentists
have been telling us to reduce sweets for years. Since the ubiquitous addition
of fluoride into our oral hygiene regiment and the placement of dental
sealants on cavity-prone teeth, tooth decay has shown some evidence of
decrease in the youthful population receiving these treatments. Yet, half of
our youth do not benefit as much as they should from better oral health care.
What’s more, as most of our mature population has established a greater
longevity of teeth retention, an even greater incidence of new tooth decay has
surfaced. This decay is attacking the surfaces of tooth roots.
Is a low carbohydrate intake the answer to healthier living? Most of the
beverages I drank as a child were sweetened. I had a sweet tooth in my youth.
I also had many cavities filled. Suddenly I developed severe asthma at age
four. Most of my activities became limited. When an asthma attack came
upon me, it was as if there wasn’t any air left in the room for me to suck into
my lungs. I was constantly sick and oftentimes had to remain home from
school to recover. As with most asthmatics, my body was able to adapt to the
illness. I developed less and less severe attacks over time. As I reached adult-
hood, I had very little dependency on my life-saving inhalers. I began to live
what I thought to be a normal life. But by the age of 43, I was diagnosed with
a 90 per cent blockage in one of my coronary arteries. Although it was opened
during catheterization, it eventually failed me and I required a heart bypass
operation. It took six months to feel sensations at the wound sites on my skin
again. It took another six months to regain the muscle strength I had been
accustomed to. My doctors told me that I was not considered to be a high risk
for heart disease. My blood pressure was normal. My cholesterol was slightly
elevated. My weight was above normal by only five pounds. I had always been
active. I had no diabetes and no family history of heart disease. I went on a
low-fat diet after the surgery anyway because that is what you’re supposed to
do when heart disease hits you. I took a cholesterol-lowering drug. But after
vii
Mark A. Falco, D.M.D.
18 months of this type of diet, my triglycerides were still elevated above nor-
mal. This elevation was considered an increased risk for another blockage. A
normal life was robbed from me as a child due to asthma. Was a normal life
going to be robbed from me as a middle-aged man due to heart disease this
time? I wanted to prevent this from happening again. Once was enough.
Is a low-carbohydrate intake the answer to healthier living? The convinc-
ing arguments for answering this question were discovered after an exhaust-
ing search for the reasons I had experienced the illnesses that nearly short-
ened my life twice. At a first look, it might be easy for someone to consider
this to be a bit trifling. After all, how can the food we normally love to eat be
responsible for harming us? Carbohydrates are necessary for our survival.
Carbohydrates are also poorly understood. It’s taken a lifetime to understand
that this is not at all trifling. In order to dismiss the doubts about this, I want-
ed to present a history of the arguments, the facts behind the arguments, the
connections to various disciplines and simple instructions to correctly identi-
fy and enjoy the foods we ought to be eating in the right combinations to pre-
serve our health as optimally as we can. These lessons are not a substitute for
your own health care provider’s advice on how you may need to plan your
own diet. You must consult with your health care provider before altering any
prescribed diet or nutrition plan for your or any member of your family that
is described within this book. The lessons you learn from the pages of this
book are to make you a better consumer and make you more knowledgeable
in the choices of foods you must select to eat every day. The mysteries behind
carbohydrate consumption need to be revealed. Tooth cavities happen to be
one of the early revelations behind the carbohydrate consumption mystery.
You body has many more startling mysteries to reveal.
viii
1.
An Episode of a Family Health Crisis
Alex awakens Monday morning, starts breakfast, sweetens his coffee with two
teaspoons of table sugar and drinks eight ounces of orange juice from con-
centrate. He eats a bowl of frosted corn flakes and consumes two slices of
toasted white bread with jelly. Then, he drinks a second cup of coffee sweet-
ened with two more teaspoons of table sugar. His watch tells him that it’s time
to run off to work. He pushes himself away from the kitchen table taking one
last gulp from his coffee cup as he loads his dishes into the dishwasher. He
scrambles about the house in search of his two children, Amy and Dylan.
Finding Amy first, he picks her up and plants a big kiss on her cheek. In the
arms of her father, Amy giggles from the squeezing of her ribs and the
momentary attention she receives. Amy is just six years old, but she already
has missed ten days of school this year because of either colds or the flu.
Today is her first day back to school after her most recent bout with a cold.
Alex hears Dylan singing in his bedroom. He gently places Amy down
beside him and quickly moves into Dylan’s bedroom. He finds Dylan smiling
and singing to a couple of his action-figure soldiers. Alex grabs Dylan from
beneath his armpits and hoists him toward the ceiling, shaking him into a
burst of laughter. He kisses Dylan on his forehead and drops him onto his bed
where he returns to his amusement with the soldiers. Dylan is three years old.
He has had episodes of wheezing, coughing, and breathing difficulties over
the last year that have appeared to worsen in the last month.
Alex locates Jill, his wife of seven years. He embraces her with a strong
hug and a quick kiss. Jill works for an advertising agency. She travels a little
bit more than she would like to, but her hours are flexible enough to allow her
to attend to her children as she sees fit. After meetings with two clients today,
Jill will pick up Dylan from the day care center and take him to his doctor to
discuss the results of some tests that were done on Dylan several days ago.
Without wasting another second, Alex grabs his briefcase, picks up his
keys and darts out the door to the garage and into his car. He has a fifteen-
minute drive to his office, a telecommunications firm in which he is the
1